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The consumption of sugar is rapidly increasing on the continent and in America. But the increase in the former is to a great extent met by the culture of beet-root sugar. The entire consumption of sugar in France is estimated to amount at present to 120,000 tons; but of this amount no fewer than 80,000 tons are said to have been supplied in 1838 by the beet-root plantations. In 1832, beet-root sugar did not exceed 10,000 or 12,000 tons; and its astonishing increase in the interval has been owing to the circumstance of colonial sugar having been loaded in France with a duty of about 18s. a cwt.; whereas, till last year, beetroot sugar was exempted from all duty. It now, however, pays a duty of 9s. a cwt.; and it remains to be seen whether it will continue to advance under this duty, which still leaves it in a very advantageous situation as compared with colonial sugar; if it do, the manufacture may be looked upon as firmly established, and able to maintain its ground against the competition of the French colonists.*

But the production of beet-root sugar is not confined to France. On the contrary, it is rapidly extending in Belgium, Germany, Prussia, and even Russia. Nor is this to be wondered at, as it everywhere enjoys an exemption from duty; and comes into competition with a foreign article loaded with a heavy duty. But were the sugars of Cuba, Brazil, and Java allowed to come into the continental markets on the same terms as beet-root sugar, we are inclined to think that we should not hear much more of the progress of the latter.

The consumption of sugar in America, Australia, and, indeed, in all civilised countries, and in all countries emerging from barbarism, is augmenting every day. But, independent even of the novel and important resource of beet-root sugar, the production of the article is extending so very rapidly in Brazil, Cuba, Java, the Philippines, &c., that there is no reason to fear any great increase of price, even though the worst anticipations should be realised as to its production in the British West Indies.t-Sup.)

[What follows is extracted from a memorial of the Legislature of Louisiana to Congress, in 1840. It will be found to contain an interesting account of the condition of the sugargrowing interest of the United States.

That from 1816 to 1828 the annual production increased from 15,000 hbds. of 1,000 to 45,000 hhds. That in 1828, the capital invested and the power used, in this branch of industry, was estimated as follows:

308 estates,
Manual power, about

$34,000,000 Animal power, about
21,000 hands. Mechanical, about

12,000 horses and oxen. 1,640 horse power.

That from 1828 to 1830, 383 new estates were undertaken, which required a further outlay of about $16,000,000: making a total outlay for 691 estates of about $50,000,000.

That under the tariff of 1816, Louisiana was already supplying one half of the sugars required for the consumption of the United States, and was bidding fair soon to meet the entire consumption. That before these 383 estates could be brought into full operation, the tariff of 1834 was adopted; that 156 estates have already been compelled to abandon their sugar works, under the effect of this act; that its further action cannot fail to annihilate this important branch of national industry. That the sugar estates yet in operation, number 525.

That the power used thereupon is estimated as follows:

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- 40,000 hands. | Mechanical

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Manual, about That the annual expenses of a well-regulated plantation are computed at $50 per hand. That these estates, with their increased machinery, have required, at a low valuation, a cash investment of at least $52,000,000.

That the annual average crops do not exceed 70,000 hhds. or 70 millions of pounds of sugar, and 350,000 gallons of molasses.

That the product of such a crop, at 6 cents for sugar and 20 cents for molasses, would be $4,900,000. That deducting expenses therefrom, say $50 per hand, $2,000,000.

There would remain nett, $2,900,000, or 5 57-100 per cent. on the capital invested.

That the nett product of the same crop, at 5 cents, and 18, would be $2,480,000, or 4 76-100 per cent. That the nett product, at 5 and 17, would be $2,096,000, or 4 per cent.

That the nett product, at 4 and 16, would be $1,460,000, or about 2 80-100 per cent.

From which it is evident that Louisiana, with its uncertain climate and expensive operations, cannot produce sugar under 5 cents; while in the West India Islands, with their genial climate and cheap operations, muscavadoes can be produced, so as to yield a fair remuneration, at 2 a 3 cents.

That under these circumstances the enormous investments of capital in the cultivation of sugar since 1816, would not have taken place, had not a continuation of the revenue tax, then laid upon foreign sugar, been implicitly relied upon....

That during the last 10 years, prices in Havanna, for muscovadoes, have ruled as follows:

April, 1830

6 a 8 reals per arroba, 3 a 4

cents.

1831

5 a 6

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That owing to an early winter, the crop of Louisiana for 1835-6 was reduced to 25,000 hhds., and prices advanced to 11 cents.

That the crops of the West India Islands and Cuba had been at that period as large as usual; that yet muscovadoes advanced in Havanna to 64 a 7 cents. or nearly cent. per cent. That the Louisiana crop for 1836 and '37 was an average one, and prices receded in Havanna to 24 a 4 cents, and in New Orleans to 5 a 6 cents.-Am. Ed.]

*The French government recently published a very complete and useful work on the colonies of France, entitled Notices Statistiques sur les Colonies Françaises. 2 tomes, 8vo. Paris, 1837.

+ For further particulars respecting the sugar trade, the reader is referred to the able statement recently issued by Mr. Cook, of Mincing Lane.

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72

For the exports of sugar from the port of New Orleans, see article NEW ORLEANS.Am. Ed.]

SULPHUR, OR BRIMSTONE (Fr. Soufre; Ger. Schwefel; It. Zolfo, Solfo; Sp. Azufre; Arab. Kibreet), a crystallised, hard, brittle substance, commonly of a greenish yellow colour, without any smell, and of a weak though perceptible taste; its specific gravity is from 1.9 to 2.1. It burns with a pale blue flame, and emits a great quantity of pungent suffocating vapours. In some parts of Italy and Sicily it is dug up in a state of comparative purity. That which is manufactured in this country is obtained by the roasting of pyrites. It is denominated rough or roll sulphur, from its being cast in cylindrical moulds, and contains 7 per cent. of orpiment. The Italian roll sulphur does not contain more than 3 per cent. of a simple earth; and is, therefore, in higher estimation than the English. When roll sulphur is purified, it receives the name of sublimed sulphur, and is in the form of a bright yellow powder. (Thomson's Chemistry, &c.)

Sulphur is of great importance in the arts. It is used extensively in the manufacture of gunpowder, and in the formation of sulphuric acid, or oil of vitriol. It is also used extensively in medicine, and for other purposes. The entries for home consumption in 1834 and 1835 amounted, at an average, to 530,168 cwt. a year. The duty on refined or roll brimstone varies from 6s. to 9s. 9d. a cwt., whereas on rough it is only 6d.; so that the imports consist almost wholly of the latter. Of 507,808 cwt. imported in 1834, 485,756 cwt. came from Italy or rather Sicily. The price of rough brimstone in bond in the London market, in November, 1836, varied from 72. to 77. 10s. a ton.

(SWEDEN.

Duties in Sweden on some of the principal Articles of Import, according to the Tariff issued 30th June, 1835.

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Navigation Law of Sweden.-A new navigation law was passed for Sweden on the 28th of October, 1935. The following extracts from an Ordinance, issued on the 22nd of December of the same year, should be attended to by all merchants and ship-owners engaged in the trade with Sweden:-

"The masters of foreign as well as Swedish vessels, who take in goods destined for Sweden at a foreign port where a Swedish consul is stationed, are required before their departure to produce to the consul a duplicate, signed by them, of the manifest of the cargo, along with the original bills of lading. After the consul has compared the bill of lading with the manifest, and found them to agree, and affixed his attestation thereof in the manifest, these papers, of which the bills of lading are to have a string drawn through the whole, and the consul's seal affixed thereon, are to be returned to the captain.

"The bills of lading for cargoes coming from an European port, and not shipped in bulk, must state the mark and number, with the gross weight and cubic contents of each package, according to the weights and measures in use at the port of loading. A captain, Swede or foreigner, in charge of a laden vessel from a port where a Swedish consul is stationed, is required, on giving in at the customhouse a list of his cargo, to deliver at the same time a duplicate of his manifest, attested as stated in the first paragraph, or otherwise he will be subjected to a fine of one hundred rix-dollars.

"A captain, foreign or Swedish, destined to a port in Sweden not enjoying the privilege of receiving goods in bond, and having on board his vessel goods for re-exportation not admitted for consumption in Sweden, must show proof by passport, certificate, or other duly authenticated document from the port of loading, that he intended to proceed with such goods to a foreign port therein specially named, or otherwise such goods will be liable to confiscation."

N. B.-The ports enjoying the privilege of receiving goods in bond, prohibited as well as permitted, are the following:-Stockholm, Gothenberg, Carlshaven, Landscrona, and Soderkoping.

Statement of the Commerce and Navigation of Sweden with Foreign Countries in 1833,

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(SWEETS.-An excise duty was imposed on sweets-that is, on home-made wines, mead, or metheglin, &c.-manufactured for sale, so early as 1696. In 1803 it amounted to 49s. a barrel; the produce of the duty varying from that year to 1816 from about 21,000%. to about 33,000l. a year. But in 1816 it fell off to little more than half its previous amount. This sudden decline was doubtless occasioned by the great increase in the consumption of Cape wine, consequent to the reduction of the duty on it, in 1814, from about 6s. to about 2s. 6d. a gallon. In 1817 it was attempted to revive the manufacture of home-made wine, by taking a third from the duty on sweets; which amounted, after the reduction, to about 18. 04d. a gallon; and in 1826 it was further reduced to 6d. But the ease with which the article may be made by private individuals, and the decisive check given, by the introduction of Cape and other foreign wines, to the use of home-made substitutes, prevented these reductions from having any material influence; and in 1832 the duty had dwindled to 3,721/. Under these circumstances, the Commissioners of Excise Inquiry wisely recommended the abolition of the duty, which has been effected by the act 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 77.—(Fifth Report by the Commissioners of Excise Inquiry, p. 18., &c.)—Sup.).

SYDNEY, the capital of New South Wales, and of the British settlements in New Holland, or Australia, in lat. 33° 55′ S., lon. 150° 10′ E. Population (December, 1835) about 20,000. Sydney is situated on a cove on the south side of Port Jackson, about 7 miles from its mouth. The water is of sufficient depth to allow the largest ships to come close to the shore. The inlet or harbour, denominated Port Jackson, is one of the finest natural basins in the world. It stretches about 15 miles into the country, and has numerous creeks and bays; the anchorage is every where excellent, and ships are protected from every wind. The entrance to this noble bay is between 2 gigantic cliffs not quite 2 miles apart. On the most southerly, in lat. 33° 51′ 30′′ S., lon. 151° 16′ 30′′ E., there is a light house, the lantern of which is elevated 67 feet above the ground, and about 345 above the sea. Owing

to a want of attention at first, the streets of Sydney were laid out and the houses built, according to the views of individuals, without any fixed or regular plan. But latterly this defect has been to a considerable degree remedied in the old streets; and the new ones are systematically laid out. The town covers a great extent of land; almost every house having a considerable piece of ground attached to it. There are different joint stock banks at Sydney; and there is also a savings' bank. Schools for the instruction of poor children have been established; and there are, besides, two establishments dignified with the pompous title of colleges, numerous seminaries, some of them said to be very well conducted, for the education of the middle and upper classes. There are several periodical publications.

Population, &c.-The British settlements in New South Wales were originally intended to serve as penal establishments, to which convicts might be transported, and employed in public and private works; and are still used for this purpose. The first vessel with convicts arrived at Botany Bay in January, 1788; but it having been found to be quite unsuitable as a site for a colony, the establishment was removed to Port Jackson. The progress of the colony has been much more rapid than might have been anticipated, considering the character and habits of the convicts annually landed upon its shores, the difficulties which the great distance from England interpose in the way of an emigration of voluntary settlers, and the inferiority of the soil. Owing to the circumstance of the great majority of the convicts and other emigrants being males, a great disproportion has always existed between the sexes in the colony, which has materially retarded its progress, and been, in other respects, productive of very pernicious results. Government, however, availing itself of the assistance of benevolent individuals at home, and in the colony, has within these few years endeavoured to lessen the disproportion referred to, by sending out considerable numbers of young unmarried females, free of expense. Much, it was obvious, of the influence of this measure, would depend on the discrimination with which the female emigrants were selected; and various precautions were taken by the organisation of committees, and otherwise, to exclude from amongst them all whose character was found to be in any degree suspicious. It was not, however, to be expected that these precautions should be completely successful; and the most conflicting accounts have been received as to the conduct of the females on their landing, and the influence of their immigration on the colony. There can be no question, indeed, that the latter has, in many respects, fallen short of the anticipations of its promoters; and that, whether from want of due care in the selection, or from the force of circumstances, many of the emigrants have fallen into vicious courses. On the whole, however, we have no doubt that the measure has been decidedly advantageous; and that it will tend both to increase the population, and to improve the morais of the colony.

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Climate. The climate of such parts of New South Wales as have been explored by the English is particularly mild and salubrious. The high summer heat indicated by the thermometer has not the relaxing and enfeebling effect that a similar high temperature has in India and many other countries. Fearless of damps, and unmolested by noxious insects, the traveller may throw himself under the shade of the first tree that invites him, and sleep in safety. On the other hand, however, the climate has the serious defect of being too dry. It seems to be subject to the periodical recurrence of severe droughts. These prevail sometimes for 2, 3, or even 4 years together. The last "great drought” began in 1826, and did not terminate till 1829. Very little gain fell during the whole of this lengthened period, and for more than 6 months there was not a single shower! In consequence, the whole surface of the ground was so parched and withered, that all minor vegetation ceased; and even culinary vegetables were raised with much difficulty. It well nigh ruined many of the settlers; nor is the colony as yet quite recovered from its effects.-(Breton's Excursions in New South Wales, p. 296. ; Sturt's Southern Australia, vol. i. p. 2.) There was, also, a pretty severe drought in 1835. This is, in fact, the great drawback upon the colony; and were it more populous, the droughts would expose it to still more serious difficulties.

Soil, Products, &c.-The fertility of the soil in most parts of New Holland that have been explored with any care is very far, indeed, from corresponding with the glowing descriptions of some of its casual visitors, whose imaginations seem to have been dazzled by the magnificence of its botanical productions, and the clearness and beauty of the climate. The truth is, that the bad land seems to bear a much greater proportion to the good in New Holland, than in almost any other country with which we are acquainted. Different theories have been framed to account for the fact; but of the fact itself there seems no manner of doubt. Of course, it is not to be supposed but that in a country of such vast extent there must be some fertile districts; but along the east coast, with which we are best acquainted, these seem to be much more confined than might have been expected; and the little experience we have had on the west side, at Swan River and other places, does not seem to Jead to any more favourable conclusions. It is true that only a comparatively small part of the interior has as yet been explored; and it is not improbable that in the hitherto undiscovered regions of this vast continent, land suitable for tillage may be found. At present, however, it would appear that the soil and climate, not of New South Wales only, but of New Holland generally, are much better fitted for pastoral than for agricultural pursuits. The colony is mainly indebted for the introduction of the sheep farming system to the example and exertions of John Macarthur, Esq. Its success has exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine. The growth and exports of wool have increased with a rapidity hitherto unexampled in the history of industry. In 1822, only 152,880lbs. of wool were exported; in 1825, the exports amounted to 411,600 lbs.; in 1830, to 899,750 lbs.; and in 1835, to no fewer than 3,273,353 lbs., being an increase of about 800 per cent. in the interval between 1825 and 1835! And considering the attention that is now universally paid to the improvement of the breed of sheep, the efforts made by the colonists to increase their numbers, and the all but boundless extent of pasture land over which they may be diffused, it is impossible to conjecture to what extent the production of wool may be carried. Under these circumstances, we need not wonder that some of the best informed individuals belonging to the colony are of opinion that the inhabitants would equally

consult their security and their profit, were they to devote their entire attention to their flocks, fisheries, and commerce, depending for supplies of corn, flour, &c., on the imports from America, Madagascar, India, the Philippine Islands, Van Diemen's land, &c.

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In the above sum of 991,9904., being the imports for 1834, is included the sum of 156, 1331., the value of whale and other oil brought into the colony; but this being almost wholly the produce of the in. dustry of the colonists, ought certainly to be excluded from the imports, the real amount of which, in 1834, will, consequently, be 838,8577. The value of the imports in 1835, when corrected in the same way, may be taken at about 900,0001. The excess of the imports over the exports is a consequence of the expense incurred by this country on account of the convict establishments. In 1833-34 this item amounted, for New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, to 371,0102.

Exports 1834

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The principal articles and their value exported in 1833, 1834, and 1835 were

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Arrivals.-In 1834, 245 ships, of the burden of 57,442 tons, entered Port Jackson: of these 58 ships, tonnage 20,906, were from Great Britain, 112 ships, tonnage 23,730, from British colonies, and 75 ships, tonnage 13,896, from foreign states. In 1835 there arrived 269 ships, of the burden of 3,260 tons.

Fishery.-The fishery is said not to have been profitable for some time past. This is ascribed partly to the heavy expenses attending the outfit of a vessel at Sydney, where labour is dear,and capital may be profitably invested at a high interest; and partly to the increasing scarcity of the fish, and the consequent greater difficulty of the catch.

We are unable to decide as to the exact degree of weight that should be given to this statement. Probably it is a little exaggerated; though, on the whole, we are inclined to think that it has some considerable foundation in fact.-(Carmichael's Hints on Emigration, p. 27. Sydney edition.)

The trade carried on between New South Wales and New Zealand is daily becoming of more and more importance. The imports of flax from the latter into this courtry are now, as we have already seen, of considerable value and importance.

Colonial Income.—We subjoin an account of the revenue of New South Wales for the 7 years ending with 1835.

Revenue of New South Wales, from the 1st of January, 1829, to the 31st of December, 1835.

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786 3 4

688 10 0

1,162 13 7
333 17 3
876 19 11

Rents of tolls, ferries,

and market

and government pre-
mises

Fees of public offices
Fines levied by courts
of justice
Proceeds of the sales

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of government property

Collection

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and school estates

Pew rents

Miscellaneous

Totals.

4,712 1 4 388 11 3

3,549 12 8

968 10 3 776 14 3 2,172 2 6 102,784 16 2 104,729 4 14121,065 14 11 135,909 15 6 164,063 5 10 205,535 10 2 273,744 13 10

It is seen from this statement that the revenue of the colony is rapidly increasing; and were it not for the heavy expenses necessarily incurred on account of the conveyance and superintendence of convicts, it would be more than adequate to meet the outgoings.

*The returns for 1835 have not been derived from the Custom House, and may not, therefore, be quite accurate; but the error must be inconsiderable.

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